IRS: Chandler man, 5 others defraud Nissan out of $571K

Investigators say a Chandler man has been indicted for his alleged involvement in a scheme to embezzle $571,500 from Nissan.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tennessee said Adrian Franklin, 39, of Chandler and five other men, all from California, face charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the indictment, Kenneth Carter, 44, worked for Nissan North America at its headquarters in Franklin, TN, and between March 2007 and April 2008, he filed false claims under the Federal Warranty Act.

Carter and the other suspects would recruit people who owned Nissan vehicles and used their information to create false claims on behalf of the Nissan owners, requesting a settlement check. Once Nissan issued the checks, Carter told the owners to pay him a portion of the funds that were shared between Carter and the other suspects.

The indictment states that Carter filed approximately 80 false claims.

If convicted, the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison on each fraud and money laundering charge.

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

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